Apostolius, Michael

Apostolius, Michael a learned Greek of the 15th century. He delivered the funeral oration over the body of the Emperor Constantine Paleologus, who was killed in the storming of the city of Constantinople by the Turks. When the city was taken by the Turks in 1453 he escaped to Italy, where, to please Cardinal Bessarion, he wrote against Theodore of Gaza. But his abuse of Aristotle displeased the cardinal, and Apostolius retired into Crete, where he gained a hard livelihood by copying MSS. and teaching children. He died about 1480 at Venice, leaving many manuscripts, which are still extant in European collections. — Fabricius, Bibliotheca Groeca, t. 11; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, 2, 914.